


In A Flap

by HostilePoet17



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: 1920s, F/M, Flapper Dress, Roaring Twenties, past!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 00:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17131529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HostilePoet17/pseuds/HostilePoet17
Summary: In 1920s New York, Helen and Nikola prepare for a night out in the city...Written for the Teslen Christmas FlashFic Exchange 2018!





	In A Flap

**Author's Note:**

  * For [roguelightning](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roguelightning/gifts).



> Happy Christmas, RogueLightning! I originally tried to include ALL your prompts - I had an idea of s1 Helen + team preparing to deal with a volatile witch using a machine created by Helen and Nikola - cue flashback to them sciencing in the 1920s! Alas, that was never going to be an achievable word count under 1k. XD Like, the first 600 words were just Henry and Will talking about witches instead.
> 
> So, instead, have Helen and Nikola in a lab in New York in the 1920s. There isn't much science, but Nikola is full of fluff!
> 
> I hope you like it, and that you have an absolutely lovely Christmas!
> 
> (All mistakes mine!)

“Nikola?”

“’M ‘n h’r,” he mumbled around the tool held between his teeth.

He heard a distant chuckle and the sound of heels approaching the room as Helen interpreted his garbled message correctly. “Where else on earth would you be?” She asked warmly.

Smiling as best as he could manage around the screwdriver, he carefully adjusted the wiring in the panel before him.

“You know, we are going to be rather late. It seems as though you have dressed for the occasion and then promptly undressed for the lab,” she remarked, her tone a touch drier.

Nikola rolled his eyes as he crouched before his project, his tuxedo jacket and bow tie hanging upon the chair beside him, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Securing the wire, he used his free hand to remove the tool from his mouth. “Would you rather I ruin my clothes while working, hm? Is that what—” His question came to an abrupt stop as he straightened up to look at her.

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes gleaming knowingly.

“Oh my.”

“Cat got your tongue, darling?”

He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. “Trust me, dearest. My tongue is certainly the appendage which is the least of my concerns at present.”

Helen grinned. “I take it that you like it then?”

She stood in the doorway resplendent in a glittering flapper dress, its bodice intricately designed in gleaming gold beads, trailing delicate flowers along her torso. Outside of their private quarters, he had never seen her dressed in anything in which the neckline ran so…low. At the opposite end of the dress, delicate sheaths of sparkling fabric hung in a fringe below her kneecaps, swaying gently at the tiniest movement.

“I’m at a loss for words, I’m sure something will occur to me.” He swallowed. “The hair…”

Her hand immediately went to her head, cupping it in concern. “It’s a rather drastic change. It was somewhat of a sudden decision. I know it’s rather much.”

“It’s stunning,” he assured her. “ _You_ are stunning. Simply stunning.”

She gave him a wide smile, brushing a strand of her newly cropped hair behind her ear. “Thank you. And as much as I prefer you looking as you do currently, I’m afraid I must insist that you get dressed properly, darling.”

He gave her a cat-like grin. “For what purpose?”

Moving towards him, she rolled her eyes. “You do recall the rather extravagant party we are attending tonight? I didn’t pull on this ridiculous sparkling sack – which was rather expensive, mind you – for the simple pleasure of lounging about the hotel suite this evening?”

He caught her hands in his, pulling her close to him. “You should absolutely dress like this on a daily basis.”

Helen laughed. “Oh dear, Nikola. We both know you’d never get a damn thing done. As it is, you’ve hardly looked away from my chest since I walked into the room.”

He threw her an outraged look. “Who am I to ignore my lady’s décolletage when it looks so very lovely?” He leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her throat. “Very lovely, indeed,” he murmured. He wrapped an arm around her waist so that she was flush against him, raising their clasped hands in the air. Swaying on the spot, he led her into a slow dance, still brushing his lips along her throat, all the way down to her shoulder, through the soft capped sleeves of her dress.

Smiling, Helen lifted her free hand up to the back of his neck, running her fingers along the soft hair at the base of his neck. “We are going to be very late,” she sighed.

“Let them wait. Let the whole world wait, we can dance just for a little while. Just you and me.”

“You haven’t applied any makeup yet. You’re far too youthful-looking.”

He gave a soft growl of frustration, tilting his head back to look at her directly. “Maybe I don’t feel like playing the role of a decrepit old man tonight.”

“Nikola…”

“You’re always in such a damned rush. For a woman who shall live forever, you are determined to race past every second. And god help me if I don’t go at your pace.”

She frowned at him. “Nikola, you can’t afford to draw suspicion. This is the cost of your fame, don’t cast me as the villain.”

They were standing still now, though still held in the embrace of dancers. “Maybe I’m tired of the pretence. I don’t want to cake myself in stage makeup, Helen. Is that what you want tonight? To stand by my side as I leer over you, the desperate ageing fool?”

“For goodness sake, I’m older than you, Nikola. If it helps, I can put the makeup on too? Then we’re on a level playing field.”

“It’s not the point. Besides, you look so breath-taking tonight, let’s not defeat that. I’ll get properly dressed, Helen. And I’ll put the damned ridiculous makeup on, because that’s what you want. But just for a while, I’d like to dance with you right here, like this, with nobody in the world watching.”

She sighed, softening her stance. She placed her free hand against his lapel, her thumb brushing a soothing circle against his chest. “Alright. Let’s dance, then.”

He nodded, pulling her closer, resting his temple against hers. “Sometimes it feels like the world has moved a little faster than it ought to. Yesterday, you were magnificent in a long crimson dress, and I blinked and here you are in the most glorious golden slip of a dress. I don’t want to rush the life we have, no matter how long we’ll have it.”

Helen hugged him, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder. “Then dance slowly, love. We’ll make the most out of tonight at least. After that, you can fix that sparking contraption behind you.”

He jerked backwards in alarm as Helen laughed. “Oh, for the love of -!”


End file.
